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NC State Basketball

NC State gets commitment from reigning Big South MVP DJ Burns

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3 months ago

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NC State has landed 6’9 reigning Big South MVP, DJ Burns, from Winthrop.

Burns, a former 4-star recruit, left high school a year early to join Tennessee. However, he was redshirted there with a weight issue and decided to transfer the following season. During that transfer process, Burns visited NC State but eventually chose Winthrop.

Burns transformed his body and went on to become a star big man for the Eagles. After two seasons of averaging over 10 points per game, he turned it up a notch last season, pouring in 15ppg and shooting 62.6% from the field. No that’s not a typo. Burns was 7th in the NCAA in FG% last season, on his way to snagging Big South MVP.

Because of COVID rules, Burns has 2 years of eligibility remaining, however, it’s likely that due to age and trajectory he’s only banking on being in Raleigh for one season.

We’ll get into this more in an upcoming article, but this marks the first season that Kevin Keatts is putting together a more traditional lineup, with back-to-the-basket bigs involved in the mix. Burns give NC State a whole different dimension than we’ve seen during the Keatts era. He’s a big you can run things through. He’s a good passer and obviously a potent offensive weapon. Between him and Mahocic on the block, State’s offense is going to have a whole different feel next season (and we couldn’t be happier about that).

Check out his impressive highlights.

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Papajohn
Papajohn
3 months ago

Joiner average 2.3 assists last season. With this big guy catching and sealing the deal, I’m betting those assist numbers go up quite a bit.

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Afterglow
Afterglow
3 months ago

This guy is a beast who loves contact. I cannot wait to see him in red.

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Dof87
Dof87
3 months ago

We are bringing in a wealth of experience on top of ability. Will be interesting to see how are wider bigs impose their will inside.

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NC State Basketball

NC State Men’s Basketball Will Face Difficult Odds in Battle 4 Atlantis

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3 days ago

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August 17, 2022

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NC State’s Men’s Basketball will be playing in the Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament on November 23-35, and the odds aren’t in their favor.

Here’s a rundown of the teams in the tournament:

Kansas
Wisconsin
NC State
Dayton
Southern California
BYU
Tennessee
Butler

According to Caesars Sports, NC State has the 2nd to worst odds to win the Battle 4 Atlantis.

The Wolfpack drew a no-nonsense first game, playing against Kansas, the defending National Champions. Then, they will either play Wisconsin or Dayton. Wisconsin finished last season with a 25-8 overall record, a #14 ranking in the AP Poll, losing in the 2nd of the NCAA Tournament to Iowa State. Dayton finished last season with a 24-11 overall record, losing in the 2nd round of the NIT to Vanderbilt.

 

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NC State Basketball

Terquavion Smith and Greg Gantt take over NC State’s Instagram for the Day

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6 days ago

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August 13, 2022

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A couple of days ago, Terquavion Smith and Greg Gantt were handed the camera to show State fans just what gameday is like through the player’s eyes. The guys chronicle a day in the Bahamas as they participate in walkthroughs, downtime at the hotel and pregame shootaround.

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NC State Basketball

VIDEO: Inside Look at the workouts of NC State’s new 7 foot wing, Mady Traore

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1 week ago

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August 12, 2022

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A few days ago, we went into depth about NC State’s newest addition, 7-foot wing, Mady Traore. As we were doing our research, we came across a couple workout videos that were posted.

Watching his highlights from games is probably a better indicator of what we’ll see on the court come November. bit watching these workouts (which are kind of showcasing his skills without any defenders) give a better glimpse of his potential.

Enjoy!

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NC State Basketball

Sooo, let’s talk about the 7 foot wing who just committed to play for the Pack this season

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1 week ago

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August 11, 2022

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While everyone was focused on the upcoming football season, or discussing NC State basketball’s coming trip to the Bahamas, something happened.

NC State landed a commitment from 7-foot stretch forward, Mady Traore. And he’ll be eligible to play THIS season.

Surely, a guy committing this late in the process isn’t going to be a difference maker, right? It’s probably a guy no one has heard of. Someone who has slipped through the cracks.

But what if I told you that Taore, a French native (who has moved around quite a bit in recent years) had offers from Auburn, Kansas, Oregon, LSU, Arizona, Illinois, Florida, and many, many more.

Intrigued?

Well, we are. Especially after watching some of his recent film.

NC State got in on Traore late after seeing him at the NBA camp in early July. But the story is kind of strange because after coming over to America midway through high school, he really jumped around to different schools. Maybe he was trying to find a place where he’d be showcased? But either way, all the moving made it hard to keep track of him. The one connection he does have to the Pack is LJ Thomas. The NC State incoming freshman, Thomas, played for Bull City prep and during all his moving, Traore spent a small amount of time with the AAU team at one point.

Whatever the story is, Traore committed to NC State on July 29th.

Here he is talking to Pro Insights, explaining what Pack fans can expect of him.

Traore wasn’t on campus yet, so he couldn’t make the trip to the Bahamas with the team, but he should be ready to go when the team returns.

What can we expect?

Well, we’re not sure. It’s likely Traore won’t be in the main rotation to start the season, but it wouldn’t surprise me for him to start seeing minutes at some point this season. He is 7 feet tall and can guard almost any position.

So is he a project player? Depends on your definition of that. I think this kid has all the tools necessary to be an eventual NBA talent. The question is, can he put it all together? He needs to bulk up, get more physical and just get more experience at a high level.

He’s got a 7’3 wing span. He can shoot it. He’s athletic, shifty, and has great footwork and coordination for a 7-footer. His handle is a little suspect, but he seems to have a pretty good court IQ. He looks like a coachable kid with a high motor. Pair that with his God-given tools, and well, Keatts and company may have just snatched up an eventual elite level talent under everyone’s nose.

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